PARIS: French people head back to their beloved cafes and restaurants Tuesday after weeks cooped up in coronavirus confinement, marking a further step toward normality.
As thousands thronged parks and gardens reopened over the weekend, eating and drinking establishments prepared to welcome back customers in the second phase of a step-by-step lifting of lockdown.
“We have spent several hours cleaning,” said Theo Stuzmann, head waiter of the renowned Maison Kammerzell restaurant in Strasbourg, eastern France.
And a second, more thorough disinfection was due before they opened on Tuesday, he told AFP.
“Optimism reigns today,” said Herve Becam of the UMIH hospitality union, welcoming the return of reservations.
French people can again “live a life which is almost normal,” said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe last week, as he announced the reopenings.
But in Paris, where the coronavirus remains more active than in the rest of mainland France, cafes, bars and restaurants will be limited to outside terraces.
To cater for the expected rush back to the city’s eateries, the city council gave special permission for tables to be placed on sidewalks, parking spots and other public places. Several roads will also be closed to car traffic.
The government credits France’s strict lockdown, which lasted from March 17 to May 11, with saving thousands of lives by relieving pressure on hospitals, but is eager to restart an economy devastated by the measures.
The country, which has suffered nearly 29,000 deaths, also faces an “historic recession,” says Philippe, and a sharp rise in unemployment claims.
The spread of the virus appears to be under control in most of France, designated “green zones’.
But the Paris Ile-de-France region and the overseas territories of Guiana and Mayotte, still in the higher-risk “orange” category, face a slower easing of the lockdown restrictions.
Across the country, public gatherings of more than 10 people are still banned until June 21. And people still have to wear masks in public transport, stations and airports.
People can dine together in restaurants in groups of no more than 10, but with a minimum one-meter (3.3 foot) distance between tables.
But all beaches can reopen from Tuesday, and weddings can once again be celebrated.
Primary and middle schools will open countrywide, as well as high schools in green zones — but progressively and with a limited number of pupils per class.
Epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet, a member of the scientific council advising the government, struck a note of caution.
“Every day, there are five new (outbreak) clusters... we have had more than 100 clusters declared since May 11, so we can see that the virus is still present,” he warned on BFMTV.
France’s StopCovid mobile app, that will alert users if they have been in close proximity of someone tested positive, will also come into use on Tuesday.
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France’s cafes, restaurants reopen, but in Paris, only the terraces
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France’s cafes, restaurants reopen, but in Paris, only the terraces
- Eating and drinking establishments prepared to welcome back customers in the second phase of a step-by-step lifting of lockdown
- In Paris, cafes, bars and restaurants will be limited to outside terraces
US military plane hits road barrier during Philippine training, injuring 5 personnel
- A United States military plane carrying five US personnel has hit a concrete fence while attempting to take off from a road during contingency training drill in a northern Philippine province
MANILA: A United States military plane hit a concrete barrier while attempting to take off from a road during contingency training in the Philippines, injuring all five American personnel aboard, Philippine officials said Wednesday.
The pilot and two other American personnel were brought to a hospital for treatment after Tuesday afternoon’s incident in a concrete bypass road in Laoac town in the northern Pangasinan province. Two other injured personnel were treated at the site and the US Air Force transport plane was damaged, police said in a report.
US military officials did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for more details about the incident, including the condition of the injured personnel.
The training, involving the plane landing on and taking off from an “alternate landing zone,” was planned and fully coordinated with Philippine civilian, police and military authorities, three Philippine officials said. The training was meant to prepare military forces for contingencies, such as when regular airports and runways become inaccessible during typhoons and earthquakes.
The three officials, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the accident publicly, said the cause of the accident was under investigation. The aircraft managed to land during the “supervised activity,” but swerved during takeoff, one of the three officials said.
The US military had deployed aircraft and personnel in the past to help deliver food, medicine and other humanitarian aid to Philippine provinces devastated by typhoons and other natural disasters.
US forces are allowed to conduct training with Filipino counterparts in the Philippines under a 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement. Large-scale joint combat training drills in recent years have focused on helping the Philippines defend its territorial interests and promote freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, which lies west of Pangasinan.
Confrontations between the coast guard and naval forces of China and the Philippines have flared in recent years in the disputed waters, which is claimed largely by Beijing. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in the long-simmering territorial standoffs.
The US does not lay any claims in the contested waters but has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines under a mutual defense treaty if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
The pilot and two other American personnel were brought to a hospital for treatment after Tuesday afternoon’s incident in a concrete bypass road in Laoac town in the northern Pangasinan province. Two other injured personnel were treated at the site and the US Air Force transport plane was damaged, police said in a report.
US military officials did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for more details about the incident, including the condition of the injured personnel.
The training, involving the plane landing on and taking off from an “alternate landing zone,” was planned and fully coordinated with Philippine civilian, police and military authorities, three Philippine officials said. The training was meant to prepare military forces for contingencies, such as when regular airports and runways become inaccessible during typhoons and earthquakes.
The three officials, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the accident publicly, said the cause of the accident was under investigation. The aircraft managed to land during the “supervised activity,” but swerved during takeoff, one of the three officials said.
The US military had deployed aircraft and personnel in the past to help deliver food, medicine and other humanitarian aid to Philippine provinces devastated by typhoons and other natural disasters.
US forces are allowed to conduct training with Filipino counterparts in the Philippines under a 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement. Large-scale joint combat training drills in recent years have focused on helping the Philippines defend its territorial interests and promote freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, which lies west of Pangasinan.
Confrontations between the coast guard and naval forces of China and the Philippines have flared in recent years in the disputed waters, which is claimed largely by Beijing. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in the long-simmering territorial standoffs.
The US does not lay any claims in the contested waters but has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines under a mutual defense treaty if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
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